Roman Abramovich got no residency bid in Switzerland but his lawyer team has sent an official request for correction of facts had been filed with Swiss Federal Police.
The Swiss authorities have rejected Roman Abramovich’s residency bid, saying that his presence in Switzerland ‘would constitute a reputational risk for Switzerland – and possibly even a public security risk’. It is not the first time when Russian oligarch had sought to move to Switzerland. In 2016, Mr Abramovich applied to move to Verbier in 2016.
Now, Abramovich had applied for residency in Valais canton, which includes the luxury ski resort of Verbier, Jacques de Lavallaz, the head of the cantonal Migration service. Valais gave Abramovich the green light, de Lavallaz said, but federal authorities have the final say on Swiss migration decisions.
“The [federal] secretariat of migration was going to make a negative decision but Mr. Abramovich’s representatives withdrew their client’s application before a decision was issued,”
de Lavallaz wrote in email.
On Wednesday, a Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneva (TdG) said that the migration secretariat’s decision to reject Abramovich’s residency bid was based on an analysis conducted by Swiss federal police, de Lavallaz explained, without discussing details of their conclusions. A Swiss official emphasized that the application was withdrawn before a final decision was rendered.
Tribune de Geneve has published the article in both French and English, highlighting billionaire’s high profile internationally. Roman Abramovich who hates even a little attention of the press, was unhappy with such a development. The story was also published in English by other newspapers in the Tamedia group, which said that police argued he was linked to “alleged money laundering and alleged contacts to criminal organisations.”
Police claimed “that Abramovich’s presence in the country would constitute a reputational risk for Switzerland – and possibly even a public security risk,” the newspaper further reported.
The newspaper also posted a statement from an individual identified as Abramovich’s lawyer, criticising Swiss officials and the release of his personal information.
“We have filed a request for correction of facts to the Swiss Federal Police and will be filing a criminal complaint against unknown persons responsible for dissemination of this confidential information,”
the lawyer, Daniel Glasl, said in the statement.
“Any suggestion that Mr Abramovich has been involved in money laundering or has contacts with criminal organisations is entirely false,”
he added and stressed that Russian businessman has no criminal record.
